Gooch Finally Concedes, Announces Support For Little

STATE – With all the votes counted and Highlands Mayor Anna Little still holding the lead, challenger Diane Gooch is finally ready to throw in the towel. The two women ran an exceptionally close race for the Republican nomination to run for Congress in New Jersey’s Sixth District.

“Having carefully reviewed the final count for the CD6 Republican Primary, I have decided against asking for a recount,” Gooch said in a statement this afternoon.

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“I support Anna Little in her effort to become the Republican Congresswoman for CD6,” Gooch said. “We both want smaller government, lower taxes, and to encourage job growth through the private sector. Today, I step out of the race for Congress in CD6 and voice my support for Anna Little for Congress.”

Little issued a statement pledging to work with Gooch and the Sixth Congressional District Republicans that supported her.

“All of us moving forward have a common goal and that is to end the reign of Frank Pallone over the 6th District,” Little said. “His policies and philosophy have consistently undermined the fundamental liberties of the people of the 6th District and have predictably resulted in an overbearing tax burden, crushing business regulation, unbearably high unemployment and now the single greatest encroachment of personal freedom in American history, the recently passed health care bill.”

“This is the year we retire Frank Pallone. This is the year we take our government back. With an ally like Diane Gooch in the people’s corner, there is nothing we can’t accomplish together,” Little concluded.

Little, a conservative Republican backed by the tea party movement, already won one upset victory — she raised just a small fraction of the money spent by Gooch during the primary campaign. Now she hopes to win another upset in November.